There are numerous railroad shops in this country in which railroad axle/wheel assemblies have their bearings serviced by removal and replacement of the bearings with either new or reconditioned bearings. The task of pulling heavy-duty roller axle bearing assemblies from the opposite end stub axle portions of railroad axle/wheel assemblies is time consuming and requires considerable labor. Accordingly, the production volume of repair centers specifically designed to provide railroad car service including the replacement of the axle/wheel assembly bearings is not as high as it should be. Therefore, a need exits for an apparatus whereby railroad axle/wheel assemblies may have the roller bearing assemblies readily removed therefrom in order that new or rebuilt wheel assemblies may be reinstalled thereon.
Various forms of wheel bearing puller assemblies have been heretofore designed and some have been specifically designed for use in pulling railroad wheel bearings. However, these previously known forms of wheel bearing structures are not capable of high volume production.
Examples of typical forms of wheel bearing pullers including some of the structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,196,963, 2,878,559, 2,906,012, 3,103,064, 3,713,198, 3,916,499 and 3,995,361.